Victorious already at the Tour du Haut Var, French team Ag2r-La Mondiale are enjoying a successful start to the year as their young riders rise to the challenge of leading the team to success.
An average campaign in 2013 was offset by Christophe Riblon’s win on Alpe d’Huez at the Tour de France and Carlos Betancur’s performance at the Giro d’Italia, and it is the latter who is in scintillating form this season.
As an upcoming French rider, Romain Bardet was the man lauded by the press in the build-up to Paris-Nice, but having lost time early in the race, it is Betancur who has instead come to the fore as team leader.
Following his Tour du Haut Var win, secured courtesy of one stage win and one second place, the Colombian will now wear the yellow jersey of overall at Paris-Nice, at least for stage seven. His eight-second lead is a slender one, but Ag2r-La Mondiale have proved they are the team in form, and given Betancur’s early-season showing, his overall ambitions at the Giro d’Italia are worth noting.
